Nuran Aysul

Ticks biting humans in the urban area of Istanbul

A passive surveillance for tick bites in humans was undertaken in the city of Istanbul (Turkey) in the summer and autumn of 2006. From 1,054 reported tick bites, most were females of Ixodes ricinus (27%) and nymphs of Hyalomma aegyptium (50%). A few adults of Hyalomma m. marginatum, Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Dermacentor marginatus were also recorded. We investigated potential risk factors for I. ricinus and H. aegyptium with spatial statistics. Climate features at 1-km resolution (monthly minimum temperatures in late summer and autumn and rainfall) and vegetation features at high resolution (density and heterogeneity of forest-type vegetation as well as distance of reporting site to these vegetation features) are useful variables explaining high reporting clusters for both Ixodes and Hyalomma. While Ixodes is highly reported in dense highly heterogeneous vegetation patches, Hyalomma is commonly found in areas far from forest-type features and in the small, relatively dry vegetation patches within the urban fabric.

Population diversity and multiplicity of infection in Theileria annulata

Graphical abstract Research highlights ► Natural populations of Theileria annulata show extensive diversity. ► Evidence of panmixia with linkage disequilibrium detected in some localities. ► Individual cattle are infected with a number of genotypes. ► Multiplicity of infection positively correlates with age of host.

Efficacy of in-feed preparations of an anticoccidial, multienzyme, prebiotic, probiotic, and herbal essential oil mixture in healthy and Eimeria spp.-infected broilers

The efficacies of 5 widely used dietary supplements were investigated on performance indices, fecal oocyst excretion, lesion score, and intestinal tract measurements in healthy and Eimeria spp.-infected birds by using a comparative model. This study included 2,400 sexed Ross 308 broiler chicks that were equally divided in 2 groups: the infected group, experimentally infected with oocysts of mixed Eimeria spp. at 14 d of age, and the healthy controls. The birds in both groups were further divided equally into 6 groups, of which one was fed a basal diet and served as control without treatment and the other 5 served as experimental treatments. These 5 groups were fed 5 diets containing preparations of 60 mg/kg of anticoccidial salinomycin (SAL), 1 g/kg of multienzyme (ENZ), 1 g/kg of probiotic (PRO), 1 g/kg of prebiotic (PRE), and 40 mg/kg of an herbal essential oil mixture (EOM). Body weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR) showed significant improvement in the infected animals, which indicates that dietary supplemental regimens with SAL, ENZ, PRO, and PRE initiated in 1-d-old chicks reduced adverse effects after challenge with coccidiosis; however, chicks that were administered EOM failed to show such improvement. Uninfected chickens showed significant improvement in FCR with supplements SAL, PRE, and EOM, which signifies significant (P < 0.01) infection by supplement interactions for BW gain and FCR. In the infected group, all of the supplements reduced the severity of coccidiosis lesions (P < 0.01) induced by mixed Eimeria spp. through the middle and lower regions of the small intestines, whereas supplementation with SAL or EOM alone was effective (P < 0.01) in reducing oocyst excretion compared with the control treatment. The data indicated that use of these subtherapeutically efficacious supplements (except EOM) in broiler production can lessen the depression in growth due to coccidial challenge.

Development of a Loop‐mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) Assay for Rapid Diagnosis of Babesia canis infections

Vector-borne diseases are rising in interest due to global warming, which is believed to impact on the distribution of vectors into new areas thus influencing the occurrence and epidemiology of vector-borne pathogens. Babesia canis belongs to the Piroplasmidae and there are three described subspecies, namely B. canis canis, B. canis rossi and B. canis vogeli. They are each transmitted by a different tick-species, Dermacentor reticulatus, Haemaphysalis leachi and Rhipicephalus sanguineus, respectively. There are also differences in the geographical distribution and pathogenicity to dogs of each subspecies. In this study, we aimed to establish a rapid and easy to perform DNA-based test using loop-mediated isothermal amplification to detect all three Babesia canis subspecies in one assay.

The effects of simulated rain and sun exposure on the plasma disposition of ivermectin following pour-on administration in heifers

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Turkey; Department ofParasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Turkey; Department of Animal Nutrition and NutritionDiseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Turkey

Prevalence of Echinococcus granulosus determined with polymerase chain reaction in dogs in Aydın district

OBJECTIVE In this study, it was aimed to determine the prevalence of E. granulosus in the Aydın district. METHODS Clean and fresh faeces samples were collected off the ground from owned dogs (n=100; 25 female, 75 male) with the range of 6-16 months old. These faeces samples were obtained in 13 villages from five different locations (Centre, Söke, Çine, Bozdoğan and Kuyucak) of the Aydın district. The prevalence of E. granulosus was investigated with PCR and prior to applications of molecular techniques, faeces samples were investigated with macroscopic and floatation methods RESULTS E. granulosus was determined in only one dog (1%; 1/100) and Toxocara canis (11%), Ancylostoma caninum (%3), Taenia spp. (2%) and Capillaria spp. (1%) eggs were also identified. CONCLUSION Current prevalence (1%) of E. granulosus in this study is lower than the other studies conducted in different parts of Turkey. Determination of E. granulosus with PCR in faeces without determining any parasites with either macroscopic or microscopic examinations could indicate the potential risk of dog faeces for animal owners, veterinarians and parasitology laboratory technicians.

Prevalence and molecular characterization of Giardia duodenalis in dogs in Aydin, Turkey

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and molecular characterization of Giardia duodenalis among dogs in Aydin, Turkey. A total of 473 faecal samples from dogs were collected. The overall prevalence of G. duodenalis was 18.8%. Higher infection rates were observed in dogs younger than three months old, from shelters, and with diarrhoea. Faecal samples of 89 dogs, diagnosed Giardia-positive by microscopy, were found positive by nested PCR. The β-giardin nested PCR assay revealed assemblage B in all samples (100%), whereas 38 of the samples were mixed with assemblage A (42%). Sequence analysis of isolates indicated sub-genotypes A3 and B4 which have been previously detected in human isolates from Turkey. The results of the present study indicated the relatively high prevalence of giardiasis and the presence of the zoonotic sub-genotypes suggesting the important role of dogs as potential reservoirs of human infections.

Hypomagnesemia In Naturally Infected Calves With Giardia spp.

Magnezyum enerji metabolizmasinda bircok enzimin aktivasyonuna katilan makromineraldir. Diyetle aliminin ve absorbsiyonunun azalmasi veya konjenital metabolik hastaliklar sonucu Mg eksikligi sekillenebilmektedir. Bu olgu sunumunda 2 aylik yastan kucuk, dogal olarak giardiazisli 11 ishalli buzagida Mg duzeyleri arastirildi. Hasta basi hizli test kitleriyle Giardia duodenalis pozitif saptananlarda, taninin kesinlestirilmesi amaciyla diski ornekleri cinko sulfat flotasyon/Giemsa boyama ile incelendi. Mg seviyeleri Vet Photometer 700 DP cihazi ile enzimatik-kolorimetrik yontemle belirlendi. Hasta buzagilarda Mg seviyeleri (min-maks) 0.15-0.41 mmol/L arasinda bulundu. Elde ettigimiz bulgular literaturlerdeki saglikli referans grubu ve ayni yastaki buzagilar (0,8-1,6 mmol/L) ile hipomagnezemili ancak giardiazisi bulunmayanlarda (0,4-0,5 mmol/L) saptanan referans araliklarina gore daha dusuk seviyelerde Mg tespit edildigini gostermektedir. Sonuc olarak Giardia spp. ile dogal infekte buzagilarda, malabsorpsiyon ve diyarenin magnezyum emilimini bozarak hipomagnezemiye sebep olabilecegi soylenebilir.

A case of traumatic myiasis in a dog

A male Rottweiler dog was brought to the Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Veterinary Clinics with the complaint of injury. On examination, on the right rear side of the dog, Myiasis larvae were found. Twenty-seven were collected and larval mouth parts and posterior stigmas were dissected. Upon microscopic examination, the larvae of the dog were identified as third stage Lucilia spp. In the region where larvea were located, erythema, edema, and petechial hemorrhages were observed as pathological disorders.